SystemTool

Behavior

SystemTool is a misleading application that may give exaggerated reports of threats on the computer.

Note:
The SystemTool program may be repackaged using several alternative names.

Antivirus Protection Dates

Initial Rapid Release version
October 02, 2014 revision 022

Latest Rapid Release version
February 01, 2015 revision 020

Initial Daily Certified version
December 16, 2010 revision 002

Latest Daily Certified version
September 23, 2011 revision 025

Initial Weekly Certified release date
December 22, 2010

Click here for a more detailed description of Rapid Release and Daily Certified virus definitions.

Behavior
The program reports false or exaggerated system security threats on the computer.

The user is then prompted to pay for a full license of the application in order to remove the threats.

The program sets the desktop wallpaper to an image that contains the following text:
WARNING!
YOUR'RE IN DANGER!
YOUR COMPUTER IS INFECTED WITH SPYWARE!
ALL YOU DO WITH COMPUTER IS STORED FOREVER IN YOUR HARD DISK.
WHEN YOU VISIT SITES, SEND EMAILS... ALL YOUR ACTIONS ARE LOGGED. AND IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO REMOVE THEM WITH STANDARD TOOLS. YOUR DATA IS STILL AVAILABLE FOR FORENSICS. AND IN SOME CASES

FOR YOUR BOSS, YOUR FRIENDS, YOUR WIFE, YOUR CHILDREN. Every site you or somebody or even something, like spyware, opened in your browsers, with all the images, and all the downloaded and maybe later removed movies or mp3 songs - ARE STILL THERE and could break your life!

SECURE YOURSELF RIGHT NOW!
REMOVE ALL SPYWARE FROM YOUR PC!

It then ends all programs running on the computer.

It also prevents users from launching new processes, displaying the following fake message:
WARNING!
Application cannot be executed. The file [FILE NAME] is infected.
Please activate your antivirus software.

It may attempt to connect to the following URL to signal infection:

http://[IP ADDRESS]/install.php?affid=[AFFILIATE ID]

http://[IP ADDRESS]api/stats/install/[ID]/[AFFILIATE ID]

http://[IP ADDRESS]/api/urls/?affid=[AFFILIATE ID]

Where [IP ADDRESS] could be any of the following:

195.3.147.14

178.162.174.147

Fake names

System Tool 2011

Personal Shield Pro 2011

Security Tool 2011

Winweb Security 2011

System Security 2011

Security Shield 2011

MS Removal Tool 2011

Essential Cleaner 2011

Installation
When the program is executed, it copies itself as the following file:
%SystemDrive%\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\[FIVE RANDOM LETTERS][FIVE RANDOM NUMBERS]\[FIVE RANDOM LETTERS][FIVE RANDOM NUMBERS].exe

FOR BUSINESS USERS
If you are a Symantec business product user, we recommend you try the following resources to remove this risk.

Identifying and submitting suspect files
Submitting suspicious files to Symantec allows us to ensure that our protection capabilities keep up with the ever-changing threat landscape. Submitted files are analyzed by Symantec Security Response and, where necessary, updated definitions are immediately distributed through LiveUpdate™ to all Symantec end points. This ensures that other computers nearby are protected from attack. The following resources may help in identifying suspicious files for submission to Symantec.

2. Restoring settings in the registry
Many risks make modifications to the registry, which could impact the functionality or performance of the compromised computer. While many of these modifications can be restored through various Windows components, it may be necessary to edit the registry. See in the Technical Details of this writeup for information about which registry keys were created or modified. Delete registry subkeys and entries created by the risk and return all modified registry entries to their previous values.